New Zealand outraged: visitors can torture kiwi in US zoo

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Following a protest in New Zealand, a US zoo halted a program that allowed visitors to pet and hug the shy New Zealand heraldic animal, the kiwi. The “concerns” raised are being “taken very seriously” and the offering called “Kiwi Encounter” (Kiwi Encounter) will be discontinued immediately, the Miami Zoo said.

Until now, guests were allowed to pet one of the nocturnal animals in the bright daylight for a fee. Videos of it circulating on the internet sparked outrage in the animal’s childhood home. “It is very clear that your team has no idea how to handle this national treasure,” one user wrote on Twitter in a speech to the zoo. Another noted that the zoo should sell plush kiwis if they need money. Handling the bird is “unethical and cruel”.

There are only 70,000 left in the wild

The New Zealand Department of the Environment has announced that it will contact the Miami zoo “to provide our expertise and high standards of respectful care for kiwis”.

The kiwi was hatched at the Miami Zoo. About 60 of his species live in zoos around the world. It is estimated that only about 70,000 live in the wild in New Zealand. Millions of Kiwis lived there before the arrival of the first Polynesian settlers and later the first Europeans. The animals are also an important part of Maori mythology. (AFP/no)

Source: Blick